


Hey, Jealousy

by ehvul_butterfly (summerbutterfly)



Category: Bleach
Genre: Community: springkink, F/M, Jealousy, Prompt Fic, Romantic Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-11
Updated: 2012-11-11
Packaged: 2017-11-18 10:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/560078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerbutterfly/pseuds/ehvul_butterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Renji is bringing all the girls to the yard and Rukia doesn't like it.  For the May 1 springkink prompt: <i>Bleach; Renji/Rukia: Jealousy – His new look had all the females staring and it made her want to break things.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Hey, Jealousy

It started so predictably that, at first, she almost didn’t notice. Because when _wasn’t_ Rangiku Matsumoto going on and on about men and sake and late-night partying? It was practically standard commentary whenever she had a captive audience. And yet, something about today was different. Instead of nodding politely, Momo and Isane were completely absorbed, blushing and giggling at her words. And Nanao, who had never shown any interest in Rangiku’s inane babbling before, was suddenly doing a terrible job of pretending not to eavesdrop. It made no sense and yet, it was happening. 

And then the chatter stopped and they all looked at her.

“What?” she demanded.

“What?” Rangiku repeated. “ _What?_ Oh come on, Rukia. You know what!”

“You’ve known him the longest,” Momo added. “So you _have_ to have noticed.” 

Rukia’s eyes narrowed. “Known who? Noticed what?”

The four women on the other side of the table looked at each other, then looked back. 

“Rukia,” Isane said, “surely you’re joking.”

“She’s must be. It’s not like anyone could possibly ignore it.” 

“He’s so intense. And driven. I mean, he’s always been a hard worker, but I’ve never seen him focus like this.”

“He’s putting in hours on the field.”

“Out under that hot sun...”

“Drilling and drilling...” 

“In nothing but those low-slung, cotton training shorts!”

All eyes turned to Isane. Isane turned bright red and pressed her fingers to her lips. For a long moment, all was still. Then, Momo giggled, which caused Isane to giggle and Rangiku to join in until the room sounded like it was filled with living-world schoolgirls. 

Rukia felt the corner of her eye twitch. 

“I see,” she said. “You’re talking about Renji.” 

“Not just us, honey,” Rangiku said. “ _Everybody’s_ talking about Renji!” 

“He’s truly become a model of what a vice captain should be.” Nanao shuffled her papers and adjusted her glasses. “Self-disciplined, dedicated, loyal. It is incredibly admirable the way he’s taken responsibility for being Captain Kuchiki’s second-in-command.”

Rukia’s eye twitched harder. “Funny,” she said, “I don’t remember hearing you call him admirable when he was practicing with his shirt _on_.”

Nanao eyed her coldly. “I may not have, but I certainly didn’t think he was doing a _bad_ job!” 

“We all knew he was talented,” Rangiku injected. “It’s just now, suddenly, he’s talented _and_ gorgeous! Have you seen the size of his...”

The rest of her words were lost as the door burst open and a red-faced, panting, female shinigami raced into the room. 

“Lady vice-captains,” she gasped. “Come quick! Lieutenant Abarai and Lieutenant Hisagi...sparring. Sokyoku Hill!”

“What? Now?” Momo squeaked. 

“Yes,” the girl panted. “They...they just started! If we hurry...” 

The room emptied faster than Rukia could comprehend. So fast that it took her a moment to notice that even Nanao was calmly pushing back from the table, files in hand.

“What, you too?” she demanded.

Nanao responded with a cool push of her glasses. “What am I supposed to do, stay here? In case you haven’t notice, the meeting has adjourned itself. I might as well go partake in the entertainment.” 

Gaping, Rukia could only watch as Nanao turned for the door. 

And as it closed, she could only pinch the bridge of her nose and slump against the wall, shaking her head in disbelief. 

*~*~*~*

In the end, her curiosity got the better of her, and she found herself on top of Sokyoku Hill, sandwiched in the between two smitten fangirls, watching with rapt attention as Renji and Shuuhei sparred across the grass. Both men were bare from the waist up, lithe and glistening with a healthy sheen of sweat, and Rukia found herself gasping and sighing along with the crowd as they clashed, wincing at blows that could have felled lesser opponents.

She also found that the Renji on the field was a far cry from the gawky, headstrong kid who had befriended her all those years ago in the Rukongai. This Renji was a shinigami. A strong shinigami, wielding his zanpakuto as if it were and extension of himself. His shoulders, broad and muscular, flexed as he raised his blade. His hair, longer now, streamed out behind him like a fiery banner, and with a cool flick of his wrist, he cut across Shuuhei’s offensive attack, sending the other lieutenant several feet in the air before slamming him into a tree.

The resulting reiatsu explosion made the whole crowd shudder. And there were more than a few distressed murmurs as Lieutenant Hisagi slumped to the ground.

“Whoa. Shit. Sorry, man.” Renji trotted over, toned thighs flexing with every step. “I’m still trying to get the hang of that attack. I guess that was a little too strong.”

“It’s...okay.” With immense effort Shuuhei hauled himself to his feet. “Although...I think...that might be enough for today, yeah?”

“Uh, yeah. Match over.” Renji steadied his friend, sliding an arm around his shoulders. “You want me to send for someone from Squad 4? Just in case you broke somethin’...”

“I’m from Squad 4!” A little blonde shinigami that Rukia didn’t recognize pushed her way to the front of the crowd. “I’d be happy to help Lieutenant Hisagi on your behalf, Lieutenant Abarai.”

“But you’re not even a seated officer.” A brunette that Rukia _did_ recognize shot a none-too-pleased look in the blonde’s direction. “Why should _you_ get to do anything?”

“Well, I...”

“Someone from Squad 6 should go get Captain Unohana. This is way too serious for an unseated upstart.”

“Who are you calling an unseated upstart?”

“Is there anyone else here who’s currently overstepping their bounds?” 

“Why yes, I do believe there are two people here currently overstepping their bounds.” With a lift of her chin, Rangiku Matsumoto stepped between the feuding females. “Not only that, you both failed to realize that Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu is standing right behind you. If there is anyone here that should be helping these men, shouldn’t it be her?” 

The two girls squirmed uncomfortably as Rangiku eyed each of them in turn. And then, with hurried bows and quiet “yes, Lieutenant Matsumoto,”s they scurried off, taking much of the gathered gaggle with them.

Rangiku smiled. “There,” she said. “So much better. Shuuhei, Renji, are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m good, but I think I might have cracked a couple of Hisage Sempai’s ribs.” Renji helped Shuuhei over to Isane. “Lieutenant Kotetsu, do you mind?”

“No, of course not.” Isane blushed a little as she smiled. “And you can call me Isane, Renji. No need to be formal.”

Renji grinned crookedly. “Sorry. Habit. Isane, then.” 

Isane’s blush deepened. 

Renji set Shuuhei back down. Isane knelt beside him, using kido to check him over for any breaks while Momo and Rangiku sidled up to Renji, talking animatedly about the duel. And it was harmless. All of it.

Until Momo put her hand on Renji’s arm. And Rangiku touched his chest. And, for both of them, the hands not occupied were slowly creeping toward Renji’s ass.

The next thing Rukia knew, she was shoving them out of the way and placing herself as protectively as she could manage in front of Renji’s innocent body. 

“All right,” she growled. “That’s _enough_.” 

Rangiku blinked. “Pardon?” 

“I said that’s enough,” Rukia repeated. “Enough with the touching, enough with the giggling, enough with the fawning just _enough_! I am so tired of it. Not one of you paid him any mind when he was just an up-and-coming officer with silly eyebrows and terrible kido, but now that he’s Lieutenant Beefcake, you’ve decided the sun rises and sets on his every move. It’s pathetic, and you should all be ashamed!”

There was more confused blinking. Even Hisagi, who had started to fall asleep under the warm glow of healing kido, was staring at her with a blank expression.

“Rukia...” Momo began, but Rukia cut her off.

“No,” she said. “I don’t want to hear it. Just get out of here. Leave him alone!”

The ensuing silence was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. 

Then, Nanao spoke. “You know,” she said. “Maybe we _should_ go. It’s getting late, and we all have business we need to attend to.”

“Yes,” Isane agreed. “I’ll take Lieutenant Hisagi with me. Matsumoto, do you mind supporting his other side?”

Rangiku joined Isane without a word, though she did throw an unreadable smile in Rukia’s direction. Momo trailed behind, head bowed. 

And then the field emptied for the second time, leaving Renji and Rukia alone.

“Lieutenant Beefcake?” Renji questioned. 

Rukia folded her arms. “If the shoe fits...”

Renji chuckled and shook his head. “You were really mean just now. I’m surprised at you.” 

“Yeah? Well, they were being really obnoxious. You should have heard them, going on and on about your _training shorts_ of all things. It was so ridiculous!” 

“Rukia,” Renji placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “You know you have no reason to be jealous, right?”

“Jealous? I’m not jealous!”

“No?”

“No!”

“So you honestly ran everyone off just because they made fun of my shorts?”

“They weren’t...” Rukia’s cheeks flushed red. “Oh forget it. Let’s just go. I’m hungry and you need a shower.”

Renji chuckled again and dropped his hand to the center of Rukia’s back. “Or we could just go jump in the river. Like we did when we were kids.” 

Rukia felt something strange rush through her. Something hotter that the blush that stained her cheeks, and she squirmed away before Renji could notice.

“Don’t be a pervert,” she said. “That...that was a long time ago!” 

“So?”

“So? We’re not kids anymore, Renji! It’s not...it’s not appropriate!”

“Why not?”

“You know why not!” 

His hand left her. “I see.” The spot where his palm had rested felt cold. 

She was not going to ask him to bring it back.

They walked in silence after that. Like they did right after her adoption into the Kuchiki family. Like they did after the whole debacle with the Hogyoku. Like they did every time they let their friendship fracture just a little bit more for whatever reason they continued to do such a thing.

And today, that forced distance made Rukia feel lonelier than she could stand.

“You know what,” she said suddenly. “Forget what I said.”

“What you said? When?” 

“About the river.” Mustering up some of her old Rukongai spirit, she shot a devilish smile in Renji’s direction. “Why shouldn’t we act like kids again? Just this once.”

Renji’s resulting blushing smile was one of the most beautiful things she’d seen in ages. “I was...I...we....”

“C’mon, Renji. It was your idea. Don’t tell me you changed your mind.”

Renji stopped. If one thing about him that hadn’t changed, it was his inability to stand down against a challenge. Looking to the right and left, as if to make sure they were really alone, he altered his direction, moving away from the Seireitei and towards the trees. “Don’t tell the Captain?”

Rukia felt her heart beating hard against her chest. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” she promised.


End file.
